The demons and their hordes of Possessed are winning the war against humanity. Only the great souls known as Battle Mages can stand against the demon fear and protect human armies, but too many potential Battle Mages are summoning the mad and violent black dragons, which must be killed thus leaving the Battle Mage brokenhearted. As humanity retreats and kings put politics above the common good, one sickly young man, son of a reviled Battle Mage who went insane along with his dragon, might be their only hope.

This book has a bit of everything. Falco is the despised orphan with the loyal best friend and the rich man’s son who loves to bully him. When a dragon summoning goes wrong he unconsciously demonstrates that he has magic defending another boy. There’s a big difference between Mages, who require years of study to cast spells, and Battle Mages who are simply born with magic and have enough soul to bond with a dragon. Like his father, Falco is the latter, but because of his father he has no hope of being accepted for training. But the High Queen is desperate and Falco joins the academy hoping to join the knightly orders where he makes new friends and enemies. Naturally, Falco perseveres and is allowed to summon a dragon. You can guess how that goes. 

In the background there are desperate generals, plotting Mages, and demon assassins. It’s mostly action oriented and keeps a pretty fast pace throughout. The world building is really good and has a few unexpected elements. I wouldn’t describe the series as Grimdark, but it has its dark moments considering that a lot of people are dying in a hopeless war where death means eternal torment for the average soul. Overall, I give it an A-.